Project Location
The project is situated in the western new urban area of Kunshan City, approximately 40 kilometers from Shanghai. Kunshan has a population of around 750,000. To the south, Qianjin West Road provides direct access to Suzhou. The western boundary is marked by Weicheng South Road, a secondary urban street. On the east side, a large residential area is currently under development alongside a three-hectare green park. To the north lies the office and retail hub of the Xincheng District.
A City Within a City
BAU’s design challenges the conventional Chinese approach of segregated land use by creating a mixed-use commercial and residential complex. This development seamlessly combines commerce, dining, offices, housing, and leisure facilities. The project preserves the existing commercial and dining elements while introducing small family offices (SOHO), sports amenities, and public activity spaces. Essentially, it transforms the original shopping center into a vibrant mini-city with diverse functions and rich amenities.
Highly Urbanized Environment
To foster a highly urbanized zone in Kunshan’s western new city, various functions have been compactly integrated within the project site. This approach not only enhances connectivity between different functional areas but also boosts the region’s development potential. The design encourages flexible future growth, compatibility, and the emergence of informal community organizations.
Public and Cultural Benefits
Traditional commercial zones designed with single-function planning often face drawbacks such as closed and deserted spaces outside business hours, primarily for safety and operational concerns. This project breaks away from that model by integrating commercial, dining, office, residential, leisure, entertainment, and shared public facilities. The result is a vibrant gathering place active throughout the day and into the evening. Offices, retail, dining, commercial, leisure, and sports venues thrive during the day, while local residents and SOHO tenants enjoy public activities after dark.
Architectural Form and Surrounding Environment
The environment surrounding the project reflects typical characteristics of contemporary Chinese urban planning: single-use zoning, large parcels bordered by urban roads, uniform residential buildings, gated communities, and a notable lack of thoughtfully designed public open spaces. To address these issues, this project introduces mixed-use commercial and residential leisure functions, a pedestrian walkway network, diverse architectural forms, various living amenities, and inviting public open spaces with pedestrian-friendly streets. This transforms the development into a key public focal point within the region.
Functional Layout
The design follows the concept of a “two-story building.” The ground floor hosts commercial retail shops and dining establishments, while the first floor accommodates leisure, sports activities, and public social spaces. Both floors have convenient access to SOHO offices, residential areas, and street-level restaurants.
Environmental Sustainable Design
This project incorporates environmentally sustainable features, including a geothermal exchange system, natural ventilation in the underground parking garage, passive sunlight control, permeable landscape paving, and green roofs. These efforts have earned the building a green three-star certification.
▲ Analysis Chart
▲ First Floor Plan
▲ Second Floor Plan
▲ Sectional View & Elevation Drawing
▲ Sectional View
Project Information:
Architectural Firm: BAU
Location: Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, China
Category: Commercial Buildings
Architectural Team: James Brearley, Fang Qun, Lin Donghui, Huang Hua, Dirk Uwe Moench, Li Weidong, Olga Mladenovic, Zou Hongfei, Zhu Xiulan, James Brearley
Building Area: 66,900 square meters
Project Year: 2016
Photographer: Shu He
Landscape Group (Conceptual Design Only): Huang Fang, Alexander Abke, Wang Hao, Robin Armstrong, Chen Yanling, Wang Chenlei
Partner: Suzhou Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd
Construction Company: Tianhe (BIM Architecture) Construction Group Co., Ltd
Principal: Kunshan Urban Construction Investment Development Co., Ltd
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